This protest folk song was written shortly after the Pentagon’s October 1983 invasion of Grenada following the death of Grenadian revolutionary leader Maurice Bishop.

In his introduction to In Nobody’s Backyard: Maurice Bishop’s Speeches 1979-1983 [Memorial Volume], former Grenada Attorney General Richard Hart wrote:

“…To what extent the American Central Intelligence Agency participated in the events leading up to the killing of Bishop is not yet clear. That `agents provocateurs’ were at work in Grenada is evident from the crowd of…placards. Some read `C is for Coard, Cuba, Communism.’ The involvement of the CIA in the removal of political leaders disliked by the U.S. government is too well established for the probability that its agents had a hand in the events leading to Bishop’s death to be discounted…”

On April 17, 1982 Grenadian revolutionary leader Bishop had noted that “we know that the CIA has direct access to over 200 newspapers” and “we also know that it puts out its Bi-WeeklyPropaganda Guidance to radio stations right through our continent..” A month before the Pentagon’s October 1983 invasion of Grenada, Bishop also observed:

“In February this year…the Washington Post carried this long article disclosing a CIA plot against us under Carter and again under Reagan. It seems that Carter approved propaganda, Reagan approved economic aggressions, and on top of the propaganda also added what they called certain unusual and unspecified components. I assume it means assassinations, etc….” (Downtown 10/26/94)